Diphu 30 November 2022: Dillai police station continue to intercept large drug hauls in their area. Police personnel in Bokajan subdivision, Karbi Anglong district yesterday seized a large quantity of opium from a Guwahati-bound truck from Manipur. Police received secret information, and set up a checkpoint near Dillai Tiniali locality around 7.00am, assisted by C 20 Central Police Force.
Continuing Drug Hauls
A truck bearing the number AS 01 GC 5478 arrived and was immediately intercepted. Police officers while inspecting the vehicle recovered nineteen packets of opium from the air filter located inside the engine of the truck. The seized substance weighed 18 kilograms, and its market value is estimated at more than one crore rupees.
Police arrested two persons accused of being involved in smuggling of banned narcotic substances. The arrested persons are Ajya Basnet aged around forty-five years, son of Lt. Gokul Basnet and Deomon Limbu aged around twenty-five years, son of Sukbir Limbu. Both of the accused hail from Manipur’s Senapati district.
It is pertinent to mention here that narcotic drugs smuggling from Manipur and bordering areas of Myanmar through National highway 29 and adjacent artery roads passing through Assam’s Bokajan subdivision, Karbi Anglong autonomous district have become a regular practice of the organized criminal gangs in spite of regular successful police operations.
A large quantity of assorted narcotic substances have been seized by Karbi Anglong police in the past three years; particularly by Khatkati, Dillai, Bokajan and Santipur police stations. Several times the empowered committee, a statutory body has destroyed huge measures of drugs in public view, but the shocking legacy continues.
Large drug hauls. NewsBlaze illustration.
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 appears to be leaky for dealing with the hardcore criminals and wily law practitioners. Recently a single judge bench of the Bombay High Court referred to a larger bench the question whether all offences under the NDPS Act, 1985 are non-bailable.
In Stefan Mueller, the single judge bench stated “nowhere Section 37 specifically declares that every offence punishable under the NDPS Act shall be non-bailable” and held that the stringent conditions in Section 37 of the Act apply solely to offences under Sections 19, 24, 27A, and cases involving commercial quantities of narcotics.
